Mr. Eric WITT Esq. advises small and medium size businesses, investor groups and entrepreneurs during all stages of their lifecycles: from formation to operation, to expansion via merger or acquisition, to dissolution in French, American and international law. 

This includes the provision of the following services :

• Incorporation and organization of the company (choosing the right structure, drafting of bylaws, operator agreements, shareholder agreements …);
• refining business, financing and technology strategies to help enable rapid growth for Startups;
• Real estate matters, including leases;
• Partnership agreements, joint venture agreements and strategic alliance agreements;
• Negotiation and preparation of deal term sheets, LLC operating agreements and shareholder agreements;
• Commercial leasing, financings and closings;
• negotiating, reviewing, drafting, and execution of other business or personal related agreements in areas such as venture-capital financing, licensing, distribution, franchise operations, leasing, commercial agency law and artist management agreements;
• Provision of ongoing corporate secretarial services such as the preparation and filing of corporate documents as well as the keeping of our clients’ corporate books;
• NDAs and confidentiality agreements (non-disclosure agreements or confidential business information agreements), non-competition and non-solicitation agreements;
• Contractual disputes (including collections and enforcement of obligations);
• Creating and negotiating agreements with employees, vendors and customers;
• U.S. asset purchase and/or investment (so foreign investors can avoid estate/gift tax, and minimize their income taxes).

Much of his work involves American companies looking to develop their businesses in France and French companies looking to develop their businesses in the United States.

As a seasoned attorney both in French and the U.S tax law, Mr. Eric WITT Esq. offers skilled legal representation for corporations, financial institutions and a range of other organizations who hold accounts or conduct business in France and/or the USA. He also advises individuals (namely expatriates) on the tax treatment of U.S. and French income, investments, trusts and cross-border inheritances or gifts. 

His services include :

• Advising expats on personal tax matters including the eligibility for favorable expat tax regimes in France; 

• Organizing personal or collective tax briefings for expats assigned to France;

• Providing assistance for the filing of French/American income tax returns and French wealth tax returns;

• Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR);

• Advising on inheritance tax in an international context;

• Tax litigation both in France and the USA

• International Estate Planning;

• Providing advise regarding the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA);

• International Trusts;

• Repatriation of Income;

• Tax Evasion.

Eric Witt Esq. handles entertainment and media transactions namely regarding music and film production, as well as music publishing, copyright matters, distribution and establishing/protecting intellectual property rights.

In music this involves a broad range of transactional work in the music publishing and recording industry on behalf of independent and major music publishers, record labels, investment funds, songwriters, composers, recording artists, and music estates.

In film he mainly intervenes regarding production agreements, location agreements and talent release forms.

Mr Eric WITT Esq. regularly carries out the following interventions for companies and private individuals both in France and the USA:

• Full assessment of the immigration requirements;
• Highlighting criteria that is also required by local labor law and tax, providing if required a local network partner to assist with these matters;
• Full preparation of the application file for each step of the required process: visas, work permits, merchant cards, residence permits and extensions;
• Assistance and accompaniment for completion of post arrival formalities;
• Assistance with social security formalities for foreign clients with no legal entity registered in France but whose employees are subject to the French social security scheme during their missions in France. Such assistance includes registering with URSSAF (the French Organization for the Collection of Social Security and Family Benefit Contributions) as well as calculating the appropriate contributions and directing where such contributions should be paid;
• Registration with the CPAM (the Local Sickness Insurance Fund) after the visa process is finished.